As the the New Year approaches I encourage you to be intentional with your Bible reading. There are so many tools and helps available for us to spend quality time alone with God in His Word. If you are not sure where in your Bible to read I highly recommend that you begin by reading this post by blogger Tim Challies. He provides links to many of the best reading plans incl...

In yesterdays post I encouraged you to be intentional in your time alone with God. I shared a simple and straight forward process called REAP (Read, Examine, Apply, Pray). I should note that REAP is not original with me. I first heard about it through the Verge Network and Austin Stone Community Church.
Since tomorrow is January 1st I want to add one more component for yo...

Here is my paraphrase of the opening words of the first Psalm:
"Happy are those... whose delight is in the instruction of the LORD" (Psalm 1:1-2).
It is my prayer personally, for my family, and for our SOMA family that these words would be true of us in 2014. One way this is accomplished is through Scipture Memory. The other way is through each of us feasting on God's Wo...

Why Memorize the Bible?*
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11
Memorization works on our hearts to instill faith, cultivate Christ-like character, fight temptation, and enhance prayer and worship. Scripture mentions the following encouragements for memorizing.
Memorizing...
Is one of the most effective ways to &ldquo...